This invention relates to improvements in restraining devices for animals and more specifically concerns animal collars or belts having means for identification or ornamentation.
Various animal collars, belts, leashes and harnesses have been made heretofore which include identification bands and various types of ornamentation for household pets and other animals. Typical collars of this type utilize some sort of metallic tag or other permanently impressed material for identification indicia such as the address of the owner. Such collars become useless in the event that the owner changes his address or the collar is to be placed on another animal requiring different identifying indicia.
Some collars have provided for a tag holder attachment having parts which can be disassembled to allow for a change of identifying indicia. Such holders are typically relatively small in comparison to the belt or collar so that very little information is permitted thereon. Moreover, the tags usually do not lie flush or integral with the collar making the tags susceptible to being snagged or caught, resulting in possible collar damage or pet strangulation.
Many pet owners also have an interest in using decorative and ornamental collars for their animals. Such collars are not widely available and are usually rather expensive. The owner is therefore greatly limited in his choice of ornamental collars, although it would be preferable to have a variety of ornamental collars available for different occasions.
The present invention is designed to overcome these and other objections and to improve the construction of restraining devices, such as collars, leashes and harnesses having identifying or ornamental means for pets and other animals. The present invention provides for a flexible belt member having at least one attachment to assist in securing the belt member about the animal. The belt member has a transparent face running along one side of the belt member to form an elongated pouch, and the face has a slotted aperture therein which opens into the pouch. A flexible strip lies in the pouch with identifying or ornamental indicia thereon which is visible through the transparent member of the belt. The strip may be inserted into or removed from the pouch to modify or change the indicia thereon.
The present invention also includes a kit for assembling a restraining device for animals utilizing a flexible belt with an elongated pouch therein and a transparent face along one side of the pouch. A flexible strip is adapted for insertion through a slotted aperture into the pouch. A plurality of indicia-bearing tabs are provided having adhesive along the back thereof for removable attachment to the flexible strip in any desired arrangement.
Using the foregoing invention, one may assemble an identifying or ornamental collar, leash or harness of his own choosing and may vary the indicia thereon at will. The strip is easily inserted and removed from the pouch and the numbers, letters, or ornamental indicia can be removed or rearranged with little effort. Moreover, the collar of the present invention fits snugly and smoothly about an animal's neck or other portion of the body without any unsightly or unwieldly protruberances which may be damaged or destroyed by the normal activities of the animal.